This section is intended to introduce the reader to various aspects of art that may be related to various aspects of the present invention, which are described and/or claimed below. This discussion is believed to be helpful in providing the reader with background information to facilitate a better understanding of the various aspects of the present invention. Accordingly, it should be understood that these statements are to be read in this light, and not as admissions of prior art.
As will be appreciated, oil and natural gas have a profound effect on modern economies and societies. Indeed, devices and systems that depend on oil and natural gas are ubiquitous. For instance, oil and natural gas are used for fuel in a wide variety of vehicles, such as cars, airplanes, boats, and the like. Further, oil and natural gas are frequently used to heat homes during winter, to generate electricity, and to manufacture an astonishing array of everyday products.
In order to meet the demand for such natural resources, companies often invest significant amounts of time and money in searching for and extracting oil, natural gas, and other subterranean resources from the earth. Particularly, once a desired resource is discovered below the surface of the earth, drilling and production systems are often employed to access and extract the resource. These systems may be located onshore or offshore depending on the location of a desired resource. Further, such systems generally include a wellhead assembly through which the resource is extracted. These wellhead assemblies may include a wide variety of components, such as various casings, hangers, valves, fluid conduits, and the like, that control drilling and/or extraction operations.
In some drilling and production systems, hangers, such as a tubing hanger, may be used to suspend strings (e.g., piping for various flows in and out of the well) of the well. Such hangers may be disposed within a spool of a wellhead which supports both the hanger and the string. For example, a tubing hanger may be lowered into a tubing spool by a drilling string. During the running or lowering process, the tubing hanger may be latched to a tubing hanger running tool (THRT), thereby coupling the tubing hanger to the drilling string. Once the tubing hanger has been lowered into a landed position within the tubing spool, the tubing hanger may be permanently locked into position. The THRT may then be unlatched from the tubing hanger and extracted from the wellhead by the drilling string.
In certain configurations, the processes of locking the tubing hanger to the tubing spool, unlatching the THRT from the tubing hanger, and/or other operations associated with running the tubing hanger may be performed by hydraulic actuators located within the THRT. In subsea operations, such actuators may be operated by hydraulic lines which extend from the THRT to a surface vessel or platform via an umbilical line. Unfortunately, due to the length of the umbilical line, deployment may be a costly and time consuming processing. In addition, the umbilical line may consume large amounts of space on the deck of the vessel or platform which could be utilized for other equipment.